Truelife Taxidermy in Middletown NY / Pricing

[heavuser]

Hey Guys,

 

I want to get my black bear mounted as he is my first and he's also a pretty decent size for Stewart forest where I hunt. I've been tossing around the idea of a half mount or a rug. After seeing the rugs I'm not too sure if I want one anymore.

 

I went to Truelife Taxidermy and they wanted 1900 for a half mount. The BCH7 shown below. 

 

I also asked for the skull, cleaned and bleached which was about 190 and I also wanted the lower half of the bear skin to be tanned with the back paws attached which added another 230. 

 

I know this taxidermist charges a premium as they do amazing work, but is this price far above normal for what I am getting?

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by heavuser

[wolc123]

What do they charge for a rug ?

[airedale]

I can see where this type of taxidermy is pricey as a lot of works goes into that kind of mount, can't tell you if those prices are the going rates but I can see why you are looking to have it done, a crossbow bear is an exceptional accomplishment in my view.

Al

[CharlieNY]

This is a half mount of my black bear I took with my crossbow a couple of years ago. I really like the half mount and I chose to have one with the mouth closed. I paid less than 4 figures for my mount but I will agree that you get what you pay for when it comes to quality of the mount. However you decide do not skimp on quality. You may never get another bear worth mounting and the memory of your hunt is priceless.       valoroutdoors.com

[phade]

Bears are not cheap IMO. Great bear mounts are even less cheap. Rugs are shockingly expensive. 

Because people may never get one again or choose to mount another, I’d probably be willing to pay the premium for the right guy/gal to do the work once. I have a full mount Turkey. Love it. But I likely will never get another one mounted so I paid a premium for a really good job.

[First-light]

My Taxi charges $800 for a Deer mount. He does amazing work and I don't mind spending the money. If I ever shot a Bear he would get it, no doubt. Spend the money so you are not disappointed in the end. Congrats on the Bear. 

[WNY Bowhunter]

8 minutes ago, First-light said:

My Taxi charges $800 for a Deer mount. He does amazing work and I don't mind spending the money. If I ever shot a Bear he would get it, no doubt. Spend the money so you are not disappointed in the end. Congrats on the Bear. 

I saw the tanned hide from a 600lb bear while taking deer capes here a few weeks back. That thing was huge! So much work goes into getting that fatty piece of hide ready to mount. The price tag on that full body mount was $5500 (a different taxidermist was doing it)...

[WNY Bowhunter]

I'm a hardcore turkey hunter and have killed a lot of nice toms but just have never had the urge to get one mounted. There is an incredibly huge gap between a really good turkey mount and a poor looking dust collector. 

So, if I charge you the premium price on this year's deer are you never going to get another one mounted? lmao 

[Five Seasons]

11 minutes ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

I saw the tanned hide from a 600lb bear while taking deer capes here a few weeks back. That thing was huge! So much work goes into getting that fatty piece of hide ready to mount. The price tag on that full body mount was $5500 (a different taxidermist was doing it)...

I love to do stuff myself. Love to learn new things and after getting into predator hunting I didn't like the idea of kill and leave and did a bunch of research. The coon creek outdoors guy has some great videos and after watching a bunch I came to the conclusion that it was just too much work or too much prep needed if I was only going to do 1 or 2 ever.

I can't imagine the effort for a big bear and as phade said, if I was ever lucky enough to get one I'd just suck it up as it probably wouldn't ever happen again.

[DoubleDose]

You ask " I know this taxidermist charges a premium as they do amazing work, but is this price far above normal for what I am getting?"

What is normal price?  Are there other taxidermist in the area?  Some small part-time hobby taxidermist in another part of rural USA working out of his/her barn with no overhead (store, taxes, etc) could probably do it for less, but is that practical?  Taxidermy is expensive and I have never met a rich/wealthy taxidermist.   

[heavuser]

6 hours ago, wolc123 said:

What do they charge for a rug ?

I think the rug was like 290 a ft, I don't recall the exact number.

[heavuser]

That's the other thing. I keep going back and forth on the half mount or the rug!

 

I keep getting this nagging feeling that the rug doesn't look right to me but at the same time at least the entire bear was kept whole, he had a fat ass

 

If I went the half mount I would still get the back half tanned, with the paws attached. My thought were to make a hat with the ass end and let the claws hang on the side like ear warmers ... lol 

[phade]

3 hours ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

I'm a hardcore turkey hunter and have killed a lot of nice toms but just have never had the urge to get one mounted. There is an incredibly huge gap between a really good turkey mount and a poor looking dust collector. 

So, if I charge you the premium price on this year's deer are you never going to get another one mounted? lmao 

You should start a frequent flyer membership or something. Maybe name the kid’s college fund after us? LOL

Edited December 14, 2022 by phade

[Red]

I went with the 1/2 mount with both closed on mine and absolutely love the 1/2 mount.

[Red]

Congrats on stalking the best and getting it with your crossbow. That's a huge accomplishment.

[rjrdomer]

Bob at True Life has done a lot of taxidermy work for myself and family/friends. Whatever he charges is well worth it. He did 2 bear rugs for me (Alberta black bear) back in 2015/16 and they’re beautiful. His mounts hold up well, the detail is perfect, and everyone says wow when they see it. You won’t even think about what you spent when it’s done. 
 

I have a turkey he did for me 10+ years ago and everyone who has seen it says they’ve never seen a turkey mount that good. 
 

go and don’t look back

[Lucky118]

Still waiting for my 2020 pa rifle buck to get done from my taxi. Better be awesome lol

[jjb4900]

In my opinion the open mouth, snarling black bear mount with the extended claws is ridiculous, go with the closed mouth natural look….I doubt many who went with the aggressive look really had such an encounter with the bear. Red’s mount is a winner, that’s what I would go with.

[jjb4900]

In my opinion the open mouth, snarling black bear mount with the extended claws is ridiculous, go with the closed mouth natural look….I doubt many who went with the aggressive look really had such an encounter with the bear. Red’s mount is a winner, that’s what I would go with.